November 8, 2007
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
Game 11
Evangel hosts Graceland
November 10, 1:30 p.m.
JFK Stadium - Springfield, Mo.
The seniors on the 2007 Evangel squad are: Chris Bodoin, DB; Ryan Chaffin, DL; Drew Coplin, WR; Keidrick Doby, LB; Bob Edwards, TE; Garrett Gretz, OL; Jacob Hamon, LB; Kauhane Hanson, OL; Dexter Henderson, WR; Garrett Kennedy, manager (inj.); Shedrick McClenton, TB; Brandon Mires, DL; Derek Rasmussen, QB; Troy Rayburn, DT; Justin Reppert, DE; Troy Stegall, TB; Jared Stevens, FB; Jordan Thomas, TE; and Chris Wells, LB.
Evangel sophomore kicker Trevor Gies has been named the NAIA Specialty Teams Player of the Week. Gies was also named the specialty teams player of the week for the Heart of America Athletic Conference and senior quarterback Derek Rasmussen won the conference’s offensive player of the week honor.
Gies scored the first points in Evangel’s 34-31 win at Benedictine last Saturday, Nov. 3, on a 25-yard field goal. The Berryville, Ark., product then nailed a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game to give Evangel the win. Gies also booted all four of his extra points accurately.
Rasmussen set school records with his 32 completions and 61 attempts against Benedictine. He threw for 356 yards - second highest in his career - with two interceptions and completed TD passes of 30 and 34 yards to Jared Stevens (6-0, 225, Sr., SB).
Gies’ national special teams player of the week honor is the second for Evangel this year. Joel Stevens also won the award for his play vs. Central Methodist on Sept. 15.
Trevor Gies did it again. Last year, the kicker booted a 34-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to defeat then No.-14 ranked Benedictine. Last Saturday (Nov. 3) he kicked a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game to break a 31-31 deadlock and
give EU the win over Benedictine. For his efforts, Gies was named the NAIA and Heart of America Athletic Conference specialty teams player of the week. He also nailed four extra points tries and put the first points on the scoreboard with a 25-yard field goal.
With EU’s running game struggling, EU’s Derek Rasmussen took to the air to help EU defeat the Ravens. Rasmussen threw for 356 yards - his second most ever - and set Evangel records with 32 completions and 61 attempts. Rasmussen had two passes picked off and threwTD strikes of 30 and 34 yards to Jared Stevens, who finished the game with 11 receptions for 140 yards.
Also figuring into Evangel’s scoring were Ryan Polite, who scored on a 1-yard TD, and Travis Meacham, who returned an interception 32 yards for a score. The time between Polite’s TD, Meacham’s TD, and Rasmussen’s final TD pass to Stevens was 47 seconds and put EU ahead 31-10.
Benedictine, meanwhile, had scored on a 32-yard, Jordan Banion field goal and on a 26-yard TD pass to Chris Langley from Ryan Kelly. After EU’s three quick TDs, Benedictine scored on three passes from John Weitlich. Langley caught scoring passes of 29 and 49 yards and Nigel Ricks had a 24-yard six-pointer. Banion’s kicks were good and the game was tied 31-31 and set up for Gies’ heroics.
Neither team could muster a consistent running game. Evangel had 39 total yards and Benedictine managed 80.
Nathan Thomas had seven tackles and six were solos for EU. Tim Michaux had two tackles for losses and Chris Bodoin broke up a pair of passes. Benedictine’s Kraig Goerl led all tacklers with nine stops and had an interception and two pass breakups.
Playing without some injured played at home against William Jewell last Saturday (Nov. 3), the Yellowjackets lost 38-20. A total of 13 turnovers plagued the teams. Graceland had six of the miscues - three fumbles lost and three interceptions. William Jewell fumbled three times and tossed four interceptions.
The Cardinals of William Jewell controlled the ball in the fourth quarter with their running game. Leon Wiggins finished the contest with 149 William Jewell yards on 26 carries. Graceland managed just 55 yards on the ground with Jerome Messam missing from the game. Messam is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in rushing with a 141.9 yards per game average. Garrett Graves passed for 81 Graceland yards, completing four of 20 passes. Graceland averages 341 total yards of offense, but with Messam out and Graves having an off day, the Yellowjackets totaled 164 yards (109 pass, 55 rush) versus William Jewell and gave up 444 yards of total offense (226 pass, 218 rush). Cameron Willkomm led Graceland’s defensive unit with 14 tackles.
William Jewell led 21-10 heading into halftime, traded scores with Graceland in the third quarter and then used its running game to keep Graceland’s offense off the field to outscore the Yellowjackets 10-3 in the fourth quarter and win by 18 points, 38-20.
With the opening kickoff temperature at 38 and rain turning the field into a muddy playground, the Crusaders found themselves on the short end of a 20-6 score on Oct. 21 at No. 17-ranked Graceland.
EU’s Jon Fouch got the Crusaders on the scoreboard first with a 43-yard interception return, but it was to be Evangel’s only trip to the end zone.
The Crusaders managed only 47 yards of total offense, gaining 48 thru the air and -1 (minus one) on the ground. EU’s ground stats were affected, however, by a high snap on a punt that punter Trevor Gies attempted to return. The play resulted in a 28-yard loss and is logged as a team rush. Even without the 28-yard loss, Evangel would have had just 27 total rushing yards. Quarterback Derek Rasmussen completed 4 of 18 to tally the 48 passing yards.
Ironically, Graceland’s ground game tallied 177 yards thanks to Julius Strong. Strong rambled for 112 yards on 19 carries and scored on TD runs of 2 and 10 yards. Alonso Spiller raced 79 yards on a kickoff return to score GU’s first points of the game. The host Yellowjackets tallied a modest 71 passing yards due to the wet conditions. Their running game, however, thrived in the mud and cold. Graceland’s 177 rushing yards gave theYellowjackets 248 total offensive yards.
Von Dixon was EU’s top tackler. He had nine tackles and six were initial hits. Graceland’s Milton Thomas led the Yellowjacket defense with seven tackles and all were solo stops. He also had two tackles for losses.
In 31 years of football, five Evangel games have been won by a field goal kicker. Seven opponent kickers have won games for their teams. EU’s game-winners are listed below.
Trevor Gies has booted game-winning field goals in back-to-back seasons against the same team - he had a 34-yarder with no time left on the clock in 2006 and last Saturday booted a 38-yarder thru the uprights with four seconds left in the game...if Evangel defeats Graceland, the Crusaders would turn in a 6-5 record, which would be their 18th winning season in 31 years of football...Evangel had 13 straight seasons with winning records (1991-2003)...one of the last two seasons has produced a winning mark, due mainly to key injuries in 2004 and 2006 (2004 team was 4-6, 2005 was healthy and turned in 9-3 record and advanced to quarterfinals of national playoffs, 2006 team was 4-6...EU ranks No. 3 in NAIA kickoff returns (24.4) and No. 5 in 4th down conversions (63.6)...Nathan Thomas is No. 8 on the NAIA kickoff return chart (28.2) and Jared Stevens is No. 10 (27.2)...EU had scored only 14 points in the third quarter before exploding for 28 against Benedictine last Saturday...the Crusaders now have 42 third-quarter points to their opponents’ 55 and have scored only 35 fewer points in the fourth quarter than their opponents (132-97)...Evangel has scored 65 more points in the first half than its opponents (145-81)...punt returners for Evangel and for the opponents have each totaled 196 yards -EU has returned 24 and the opponents 28...Evangel opponents have fumbled 23 times and lost 17...Evangel has lost 7 of 12 fumbles.
Graceland was ranked No. 19 on the first NAIA national poll of the year (Sept. 10). The Yellowjackets, on successive polls, were 24th, 16th, 14th, 13th, 20th, 20th, and 19th on Oct. 29. Graceland slipped out of the top-25 on this week’s poll (Nov. 3), but still received enough votes for the 26th spot. Graceland’s No. 13 ranking on Oct. 8 was its highest of the season. The Yellowjackets were 5-1 at that point, but have lost two of their last three.
Evangel has a 15-4 series advantage against Graceland (16-3 on the field). EU had won the last 13 meetings prior to losing to Graceland in Lamoni, Iowa, 73-48, during the 2004 season. Graceland’s other two wins on the field versus Evangel are a 13-10 victory at Missouri State’s Plaster Sports Complex in 1990 and last season’s 20-6 victory in Lamoni. The off-the-field loss was a 1988 game, which Evangel forfeited due to two ineligible players, after winning 47-0 on the field. The Crusaders are 7-2 vs. Graceland in Springfield. EU has a 4-1 record against the Yellowjackets in JFK and has won the last four. The loss was the 47-0 EU win in 1988 that was later forfeited to Graceland. At Missouri State’s Plaster Sports Complex EU has a 3-1 mark.